Team finds Australian hospital ship sunk in WWII

SYDNEY. December 20. KAZINFORM. An Australian hospital ship torpedoed by the Japanese during World War Two with the loss of 268 lives has been located in waters off the coast of the northern state of Queensland, the government said on Sunday; Kazinform refers to China Daily.
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The loss of the Centaur in 1943 while sailing to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea was one of Australia's great wartime disasters. Survivors and their relatives have long pressed for the wreck to be found, fearing salvagers would reach it first.

The government eventually supported a search for the vessel.

On Sunday, it said the wreck's location had been confirmed by a team led by US marine search expert David Mearns, whose other finds include HMAS Sydney, another Australian wartime wreck.

The sinking of the Centaur was considered a war crime, though no one was ever tried for it. The converted merchant vessel was clearly marked as a hospital ship and had no naval escort, as required by international conventions.

Many of the dead were medical staff.

"The discovery of AHS Centaur will ensure all Australians know of and commemorate the 268 brave nurses and crew who died in the service of their nation," Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a statement.

The Centaur was sunk near Brisbane by a torpedo fired from a submarine commanded by Hajime Nakagawa, subsequently convicted of other war crimes; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.

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